Bad news for the Pittsburgh Steelers: another defensive tackle is headed to IR. On Thursday, the team reported that veteran newcomer Sebastian Joseph-Day is heading to the Reserve/Injured list after sustaining a triceps injury. Joseph-Day was coming off a quality performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This is the second big injury the Steelers have had along the defensive line in the first half of the season.
Earlier this month, the Steelers placed 2025 first-round pick Derrick Harmon on IR due to a foot injury . Now just two proven options remain standing on Pittsburgh's defensive line: the 37-year-old Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton. This means sixth-round rookie Gabriel Rubio is going to see a massive spike in opportunity.
In Pittsburgh's base defense, nose tackle Yahya Black will continue to join Heyward and Benton as the three-down linemen. But outside of them, the depth along the interior defensive line is razor-thin. Rubio will have a chance to prove why he belongs.
Over the past three weeks, Joseph-Day logged between 23 and 26 defensive snaps per game. This is all opportunity that could be added to Rubio's plate. Rubio, meanwhile, saw 14 and 13 snaps, respectively, over the past two weeks since Harmon's injury.
If the Steelers give Rubio the bulk of Joseph-Day's workload, we might be looking at the sixth-round rookie earning 30-plus snaps per game for the foreseeable future; talk about a massive uptick in usage. And he can't afford to squander this golden opportunity.
It's only been two games of active play and 27 total defensive snaps, but Rubio has shown two things early on. Let's start with the bad.
Just like we thought when we watched his Notre Dame tape after the draft, Rubio offers almost nothing as a pass rusher. The big defensive lineman lacks a pass-rush plan, bend, and rush moves to effectively get after the quarterback. And quite frankly, this may be something he's simply never very good at.
Yet, there's reason to be encouraged.
The good news is that the rookie has flashed some dominant traits as a run defender. At 6'5'' and over 320 pounds, Rubio has been remarkably stout at the point of attack-at times, taking on two blockers without losing an inch of ground.
Rubio's run defense has been evident on film , and the Steelers have benefited from his ability to two-gap, hold up at the line of scrimmage, and stack and shed to make plays in the running game. This stuff doesn't show up in the box score, but Rubio can help make teams one-dimensional.
Obviously, we need to see more-and we will; whether for good or for bad.
With both Harmon and Joseph-Day sidelined, the sixth-round pick is expected to step into a pivotal rotational role on the defensive line, and the team will count on him to make plays. It's also reasonable to expect the Steelers to give undrafted rookie Kevin Jobity Jr. a helmet while Pittsburgh is thin along the D-line.
We could soon find out whether the stage is too big for Gabriel Rubio, or whether the Steelers' Day 3 draft pick is going to be a key part of Pittsburgh's defensive line moving forward. His first big test will come in Paris, France , against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.
This article was originally published on www.stillcurtain.com as Steelers injury leaves Gabriel Rubio facing a golden NFL opportunity .
